SHADOWMAN

The voodoo spirit that has bonded with Jack Boniface starts to wrest back control of Jack’s will in Peter Milligan and Valentine De Landro’s “Shadowman: End Times” #1, but Jack seems a lot less concerned about it than his girlfriend Alyssa, the secret order that trained him and just about everyone else who knows him. Milligan’s own concern is palpable, as well, as Jack’s gradual takeover by the Loa is pretty much the only plot element that this issue’s twenty six pages deals with. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, other than this sole plot point starts to run a little thin over the course of two dozen pages. The extra content is a welcome bonus that comes at no additional charge to readers, but Milligan has to stretch his story out to fill. That’s about the worst that can be said for the issue, though, as Milligan advances the conflict that Jack had been dealing with in the main title since he took over the writing duties there. There’s even a surprising revelation regarding

While the cover of “Shadowman” #13 boasts an “All-New Creative Team! All-New Beginning!” I find Peter Milligan’s story to be more impenetrable than a standard-issue new beginning for a comic book. Granted, this is the thirteenth issue of this volume, but to this point, Valiant has done an admirable job of making the soft reboots for their comic book approachable and cooperative. Peter Milligan climbs into the writer’s chair and pours mystery and darkness into “Shadowman” #13. That is certainly appropriate for the title but it doesn’t make the story very easy for newer readers. Luckily the cast is limited to a handful of characters that remain rather distinct throughout this tale. The summary in the “Story So Far…” segment from the inside front cover provides clues for the reader to piece together the components of the actual story in this comic book. Milligan gives readers slivers of the characters, just enough to help define the settings and scenario without truly making any of the

In “Shadowman” #1, there was enough of Shadowman’s origin that the idea of a #0 might have sounded a little surprising to some readers. That’s probably why “Shadowman” #0 instead has Justin Jordan, Roberto De La Torre and Mico Suayan tackle the origin of nemesis Master Darque; after being a presence in the background pulling the strings, it was definitely time to see what made the character tick. Jordan’s take of Master Darque’s origin not only shows the birth of Nicodemo Darque, but also his twin sister Sandria Darque. Considering that Sandria had always been the more interesting of the two back in the original “Shadowman” series, it’s nice to see that she’ll be sticking around. Her narration brings a certain level of humanity to “Shadowman” #0, which is good; as the only half-decent person in this entire comic, seeing things through her eyes let Jordan remind us that neither Master Darque nor his father (whom, for lack of a better name we might as well call Darque Senior) are suppo

“Shadowman” #5 by Justin Jordan, Patrick Zircher, Lee Garbett, Stefano Gaudiano and Roberto Delatorre continues young Jack Boniface’s initiation-by-fire. It also widens the mythology of the Valiant Universe, but unfortunately, many of these story and world-building elements feel prefabricated instead of custom-built. Much of Jordan and Zircher’s plot for “Shadowman” #5 falls into very predictable and stereotypical molds, without adding much that is different or subversive. Half of the issue follows Jack Boniface, new Shadowman and titular hero. The hero is reckless, the forces of evil going after the hero damage an innocent blonde woman, and as a result, the hero is shaken but his commitment is strengthened. It feels right out of an action movie, doing its part to add excitement and gore, but unfortunately, the contribution to character development is shallow. Jack Boniface is still green as any rookie and he takes the forces of darkness arrayed against him too lightly, but these f

There were two distinctly different “Shadowman” comics that Justin Jordan and Patrick Zircher could have drawn from for their own “Shadowman” revival. The first, published by Valiant, started out as an underwhelming vigilante comic that Bob Hall took over and transformed into a dark mixture of superhero, voodoo, and other occult elements. The second, from Acclaim Comics, kept only the name but instead had Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano, Ashley Wood, and Charles Adlard dip fully into the horror genre. The reason why this is important is because Jordan and Zircher seem to delight in confounding anyone who looked solely to one or the other “Shadowman” that this would be the heir to. Instead, it’s gleefully taking inspiration from both. With “Shadowman” #2, Jordan and Zircher (who are co-writing the book) start serving up answers even as they introduce new mysteries and ideas. Some of the basics are certainly things that the readers probably figured out already — just what the amulet that Jac

“Shadowman” #1 from Justin Jordan and Patrick Zircher is a debut that shows promise, yet doesn’t completely deliver on it. This issue hints at scope and depth of character within legacy, but by the end of the issue, too much is left as pure set up without it feeling ultimately engaging. A flashback sequence informs of Shadowman’s roots and that something went wrong. The present day follows Jack Boniface through a personal trial leading to a reveal that ties it all together. The main problem with “Shadowman” #1 is that it feels like any generic “chosen one” tale. Jack Boniface has struggled against inner demons his whole life, and done so with charm, grace and bravery. He is now pushed through a turn in the path and comes across some real life demons. The action drops plenty of exposition and while it’s not bad, it doesn’t sing out as anything special or original. The cliches are all in place — including Boniface hurtling a familial object into water, both real and metaphorical. A mor